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PlayStation 4's Competition

A Look at the Systems That Will Try to Take Down the PlayStation 4

The next console generation will see the PlayStation 4 going up against new consoles from both Microsoft and Nintendo, and though information on these two new consoles is still scarce, we do have some general info.

First up will be Nintendo's new console, a successor to the popular Wii. Unsurprisingly, Nintendo will follow up on the Wii's success with another motion-sensor based console. What is surprising, is that despite Nintendo's large lead in the current console generation, their new system will be the first to market in the next generation, possibly as early as 2010, giving the 50 million plus selling Wii a lifespan of just 4 years. The system is already close to completion, with Nintendo mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto stating that the cost to produce the systems will be very cheap, and that the new system should be quite affordable as a result.

Is Casual Gaming Here to Stay?

It will be interesting to see how the new console fares early on. The Wii has largely dominated the casual games market, a fanbase that isn't necessarily interested in the next new thing, as evidenced by the lagging game sales and attach rate of the Wii. Casual gamers are content to have a few favourite games and play them only occasionally. While the next Wii will sport better graphics, likely on a par with the current Xbox 360, it's hard to imagine that will be a motivating factor for casual gamers to rush out and buy a new console, despite the relatively cheap price.

It's also yet to be seen how long the motion-sensor crowd will stay enamoured before moving on to something else. Critics and many gamers have expressed angst over the popularity of the Wii, a console which is widely regarded as having the worst games of the 3 current consoles. Motion controls are still seen as little more than a gimmick and a fad by many gamers, and it's likely the Wii 2 will either prove them right or wrong once and for all.

The improved motion sensor capabilities in the newest version of the Wii's controller has helped add a needed degree of precision and skill into the equation for current games, something that earlier games were lacking, compensating instead with basic motions that wouldn't overly stretch the capabilities of the controller. This certainly bodes well for a possible Wii 2 if this technology can improve sufficiently to the point where it truly feels like a viable control option and not just a gimmick.

Does Microsoft Have A Console Generation Victory In Them?

With the next Wii being first to release, it's expected the new Xbox console, commonly called the Xbox 720, though that's unlikely to be the name of the new system, will arrive sandwiched between Nintendo and Sony's launches. Microsoft has built up a strong reputation as the gaming machine of choice for hardcore gamers, with a good selection of mature games, and their excellent Xbox Live service. Despite that reputation, both of Microsoft's consoles to date have been crushed by less powerful consoles that were geared towards a more casual audience, first the PlayStation 2, and now the Wii.

Will Microsoft continue to cater to the serious gamers by focusing development on shooters and mature games, or will the company try to stretch a hand out in some way to casual gamers as well, making their console the best of both worlds?

While Microsoft has performed much better with their most recent console, the infamous Red Ring of Death has severely damaged their reputation in the industry, rendering many new consoles useless shortly after purchase. Microsoft's attempts to break into the important Japanese market have also proved unsuccessful this generation, despite an improved performance over the original Xbox's dismal showing in Japan.

The new Xbox is expected at some point around 2011-2012, with Microsoft execs saying the console is in the planning stages, with them analyzing the potential technology which will be available at the time, and how best to make use of it.

Win or Lose, the PS4 Should Be Incredible Fun

The PlayStation 4 meanwhile will likely be the last to market, which is not surprising given Sony's ambition for the PlayStation 3 to have a generous life cycle of as much as 10 years. While the PS4 will come out well before that 10 year cycle is complete, as it's also expected in 2012 at this point, it's certainly true that the PS3 is just hitting its stride, and may yet end up as the most successful console of its generation for the third straight time, especially with the Wii's early departure from the scene.

With the PlayStation 1 and 2 dominating the last two console wars, this generation has seen a much more competitive battle between three industry heavyweights, a battle not seen since the Super Nintendo/Sega Genesis wars of the early 1990's. All expectations are that the next generation will see a similar dogfight, which can only be good news for gamers.

Comments

Nintendo really might be on to something with the whole cheaper consoles, and casual gaming thing. We see it with WoW as well, there are a ton of casual gamers out there looking for stuff that is simple and fun to play. While I don't want the PS4 to go down the casual games path, I'd much rather see it be just a games machine and cheaper, rather than a more expensive, do everything but cook the toast, machine. Everyone is so obsessed with having and making stuff that can do it all, I don't get it. Do I really need 10 different things that I can watch YouTube videos with? Is it gonna kill me to just have one or two? Enough with the convergence!!

until they come out with a product that can really watch the latest quality video, play first rate games and do everything the best cell phone, pc, and console can do, all in one, I'm out on the go-go gadget gaming system idea. lower the price- just make games- sony will never be microsoft unless they beat microsoft. O wait. This pipe dream is real. only it's a $7000 computer that will be a fossil in 4 years. Do we really need a nintendo with a built in pant iron? ( ironic that nintendo is probably the most self controlled of the major hardware companies - but thanks to the nes in my elementary days, all game consoles are nintendos and it is no insult to sony or microsoft to call them a nintendo ((although, a few pokemons down the road and it may become an insult))

Yeah, Nintendo and Microsoft stink at making products. That's why they're making so much more money than Sony is, right?
Get real.
The Nintendo DS is the best-selling handheld gaming device of all time, surpassing even the stellar Game Boy line (also made by Nintendo), while the PSP is for all-intensive purposes on its death bed. The PSP has become a flat-out fail. Just look at Sony's latest attempt with the PSP Go. What a mistake that was!
As far as innovation, Nintendo has also always been at the front. Throughout the industry's history, Nintendo has pioneered new ideas that ended up revolutionizing gaming. Not only did they single-handedly save the gaming industry with their NES, but went on to define 3D gaming on the N64 with titles like Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time. They started handheld gaming as a whole, and have been at the top all along. And now, with the Wii, Nintendo has taken another revolutionary step forward by changing the very way games are played. I guarantee you this isn't some gimmick that will suddenly lose popularity. Because if Microsoft or Sony thought it was, they certainly wouldn't be trying to emulate Nintendo's success by releasing motion controllers as well. Motion controls are here to stay.
On the online front, however, Nintendo falls short. I don't think there's any denying that Microsoft is king with their Xbox LIVE Marketplace, which is undoubtedly the best online gaming experience to be had on any system, even PC.
Playstation Home never really took off, and neither has the PSN. Heh, and don't get me started on Nintendo's pointless Friend Code system.
So where does that leave Sony? If you ask me, I'd say in a rut. Sure, they boast having the most powerful systems in this generation, but that will only get them so far. Sony isn't really the best at anything, and in many areas, they're arguably the worst.
Microsoft and Nintendo both make far more consumer-attractive products than Sony does. The PS3 stands very little chance of overtaking either of them. So unless Sony pulls another E3 2006 and makes the PS4 rediculously expensive, gamers will have very little to reason to buy PS3's once its successor is out in a few years.

you talk alot and dont say anything. PS3 is far superior than the xbox in almost every aspect
online gaming- its FREE.
Blu ray - HD DVD..... UH i wonder who won that one
Built in wifi
wbuilt HDD. ,,, need i go on
what aspect does the crap box beat a ps3. AND BEFORE you answer,...... Halo is dead... sorry

Totaly agree with that. How many systems do u know of that have a 33% fail rate besides shitbox3fixme. that systems a f**cking joke. you pay 300$ for the system then if u want wifi its 80$ extra then if u want to play a game online its 50$ more. the controllers are the size of a fu**ckn Vhs tape that run off batteries . then after all that u use it for 2 months n get the red ring.

i love how the only information y u gave on Playstation ( the best ) was the psp yet u say all this stuff about Wii and Xbox r u forgettin that The history of the Playstation begins in 1988 when Sony and Nintendo were working together to develop the Super Disc. The Super Disc was going to be a CD-ROM attachment that was intended to be part of Nintendo's soon to be released Super Nintendo game. However, Sony and Nintendo parted ways business-wise and the Super Disc was never introduced or used by Nintendo. In 1991, Sony used a modified version of the Super Disk as part of their new game console - the Sony Playstation. Research and development for the PlayStation had began in 1990, headed by Sony engineer, Ken Kutaragi. only two hundred models of the first Playstation (that could play Super Nintendo game cartridges) were manufactured by Sony. The original Playstation was designed as a multi-media and multi-purpose entertainment unit. Besides being able to play Super Nintendo games, the Playstation could play audio CDs and could read CDs with computer and video information as well. In 1994, the new PlayStation X (PSX) was released that was no longer compatable with Nintendo game cartridges and only played CD-ROM based games. A smart move that soon made Playstations the best selling game console. Also ps was the 1st console to have a camera based game coming out wit the eye toy of november 4th 2003. let alone now the ps3 is the only home console to offer stereoscopic 3D game content via firmware update 3.30 ima stop now tell me if you wanna know more

The Wii is like the little sister of the family, who isn't one to ask for a lot, but doesn't do much during the day, either.
The Xbox is my problem child who keeps wetting himself, yet can probably be someone important when he grows up.
AND THE PS4 IS A BLOODSUCKING DRAGON, WITH CHAINSAW ARMS AND LASER EYES!!!
But I love them all the same.

The game console wars will go on for many years to come. play station will (by chance) keep going up the number line to ps10 (opinon). xbox will mabey make a 960 or something like that. nitendo might go up to wii 10.
By then they'll know that war is not the ansewer and be friends and make a wii station box.
And by then every gamer will be happy.

id like to answer all things from oldest to newest...
1.Yes, you really dont need 50 things to watch youtube videos, their videogame systems, not movie systems.
2.The microsoft and nintendo corparations have made more money by different ways, nintendo pulled people in with a cheap casual system and microsoft pulled people in with a stark system that you dont need all of the special attachments unless you want to buy them extra, while sony made a stupid move by including all the pretty nooks and crannys along with the whole console price, ending up with them losing a lot of money.
3.Each system supposedly has a ten year life-span, but that does not mean that another system cannot be running at the same time, the PS2 and the PS3 ran together for a little while, so if the PS4 comes out, the PS3 should still run 2-4 years with it.
4.Good model, you should treat all your systems like children, even the old ones, i still treat my GBA good, eventhough i barley play it anymore.
5.Hehe hehe, i dont think they will run to a wii10 or xbox960 because honestly, that sounds stupid, not being harsh, and also, the PS10 also sounds kinda weird, but not as stupid as the other ones.
Well, im not trying to sound mean to anyone who thought i did sound mean, and leave a comment if you want to add something to what i said.

Sony and MS both work off of the loss business model in the beginning.
By nooks and crannies I assume you mean Bluray and Cell Processor?
Well Cell and RSX in combination with Bluray has made games like Uncharted 2 and 3 possible, along with newer titles like The Last Of Us, God Of War 4 (along with 3 in the past, which is still regarded by many to be one of the best looking games out in the current generation), also Beyond and the Kara demo.
While these games and demo may not work at the highest PC resolutions, they clearly are graphically superior to the Xbox 360's games, any of the best looking 1st party games look better on PS3 compared to 360 and BTW before anyone comments I have a 360, I play COD on it because my friends do, along with BF3.
Forza 3 and 4 IMO do look better than GT5.
Games from Naughty Dog and Quantic Dreams clearly show why Sony's investment in cell was worth it for Sony.
Sony has apparently made more money off of PS3 than Microsoft has, apparently MS has not made much of anything with Xbox.
MS has a very small lead over units sold of the 360, despite PS3 being released about a year after 360.

I sent My Will into Nintendo to get it fixed after 1 year, And they said they could not fix it :I...., So I got it back and found out.... They took my freaking memory card!! Hate it! Never again will a nintendo product be in my house!!!!

This user has clearly made up this comment about the price of PS4.
For one thing nothing has been confirmed regarding the price by Sony.
Please bear in mind when making up comments that Sony doesn't pay retail prices for the parts they use.
They aren't going to want to make a console that only a few working people can afford.
It doesn't take $900 or $1000 dollars to build and package a new console several times the power of PS3.
In all likelihood we're probably looking at Sony releasing between the $400 to $600 mark.
For anyone to build a basic gaming PC, with AMD APU and GPU in crossfire it would cost the consumer around about $400, maybe $440, this is a machine that will likely be 2 to 3 times more powerful than PS3.
Sony could probably build such a system for about $250.
Even a HD6870 only costs about $170 on Amazon US, an AMD FX 8150 is $190, that's a Amazon's prices, AMD can probably sell them to Sony for half that and still turn a pretty large profit (BTW I'm not saying PS4 will use those parts as I don't know).
A BD drive can be bought for $60 on Amazon or $50 depending on who makes it, though Sony can likely make them in house far cheaper.
Basically there is zero reason for PS4 to cost $1000, not unless it is making Sony about $400 profit per console, which considering Sony's business model with every past new console that's highly unlikely, because they make a loss on hardware for the first few years until they can reduce the cost of manufacturing, they usually make their money on the games and I believe peripherals to keep things going.

Hello, My name is Paulette, i am from Japan. I used to work with the Sony company. I did start working with the PS4. They told me to not tell anyone on what they are going to do with the PS4. I worked in Japan but i moved to Edmonton,AB. I heard that the person who was going to build the PS4 died. But they found another guy. They said if they do not get enough money from people buying the PS3, they will not get enough money to build the PS4. I am thinking of going back and helping them. But they need your help to build it. They say they are already making video games for the PS4. The PS4 will cost 1000$. If you need more information it would be my pleasure to respond to you. They might cancel the PS4 but I am not sure yet.I am not positive that they will cancel it. I just heard that they might.My friend who works with Sony told me. But they say they are already working on the PS5. But they say that they might not build PS10. They are trying the best they can and the PS5 will be realesed in 2018. If you would like to ask me more questions please reply to this comment.
Thank you,
Paulette

The comment stating that PS4 will cost $1000 sounds like absolute BS, mainly because parts that will make up the PS4 will not come anywhere close to that.
What's far more likely is PS4 will cost between $400 to $600.
The whole comment on PS4 not being released is also bull, Jack Tretton has already confirmed that Sony is working on PS4, in fact comments were made by Sony earlier and every person in to games consoles knows that Sony started to work on the next playstation very close to when PS3 was released, either shortly before PS3 came out or shortly after.
You've contradicted yourself by saying PS5 is being planned, if that is the case then of course there would have to be a PS4 before PS5.
I don't doubt that the entire post above mine is all BS.

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